Apparatus for covering mattresses



Feb. 13, 1934. D. MICON APPARATUS FOR COVERING MATTRESSES Fil ed Feb. 9, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet l Jill Feb E3, 193 v D. MICON APPARATUS FOR covmum MATTRESSES .Filed Feb. 9, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 D. MICON APPARATUS FOR COVERING MATTRESSES Filed Feb. 9. 1931 Feb. 13, 1934.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 13, 1934. D. MICON APPARATUS FOR COVERING MATTRESSBS Filed Feb. 9. 1931 4 Sheets-S et 4 Patented Feb. 13, 1934 1,947,216 APPARATUS FOR comma m'r'raassas David Micon, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application February 9,

4 Claims.

This invention pertains to methods and apparatus for covering mattresses, and particularly for assuring that the covers will be aflixed and secured to the mattresses in accordance with a 6 uniform standard and, additionally, with great economy in the operation. Much of the manual labor heretofore required and the attendant errors is eliminated by this invention, and the mattresses produced are uniform in character and appearance.

In general, the object of this invention, therefore, is to provide improved methods and apparatus for applying fabric covers to mattresses.

Other various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon a perusal of the specification and'drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a. plan view of the apparatus provided in this invention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus,

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 44 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is an. enlarged vertical sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 showing a needle piercing the mattress,

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a portion of the mattress showing the needle withdrawn and the tying cord pulled through.

Fig. '7 is a plan view of a modified form of pressing clamp to be employed on this apparatus when covering hair or felted mattresses, and

Fig. 8 is a central vertical section on the line 8-8 of Fig. '7 with a clamp holder added.

In the drawings, there is shown a supporting frame consisting of vertical posts 1 connected by bottom horizontal frame members 2 and top horizontal frame members 3, forming with the braces '4 a rigid structure suitable for supporting a movable carrier for the mattress.

The mattress carrier consists of a rectangular frame 5 having four wheels 6 which run on tracks 7. These wheels are connected solely to the rectangular frame member 5. At opposite ends of the carrier frame 5 are the pivots 8 on which an inner frame is pivoted for rotation about a horizontal axis extending from one pivot to the other. The inner frame consists of the end pieces 9 which are rigidly connected to side frame members 11.

A mattress is placed in this carrier in the following manner: Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, a pair of bars 12, which may be of wood or metal or other sufficiently rigid material, are placed at the bottom of the mattress carrier by placing 1931. Serial No. 514,425

their ends on the inwardly extending lower flanges of the side frame members 11. On top of these two bars 12 there are placed a plurality of other bars 13, each with its ends engaged in sockets 14 which are secured to the inner end frame members 9. Thereafter a mattress as indicated by the dotted'line 15 is laid upon the longitudinally extending bars 13. With the mattress lying in this position in the carrier the apparatus is then ready to be used for applying a mattress cover to one side of the mattress. First, the entire mattress carrier is moved over to one end of the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 and the cover is placed on the top thereof folded or rolled and located at the extreme left of the mattress, so'that it will not extend to the right of the position where the needles first will pierce the mattress.

Needles pierce the mattress to engage the tying cords and pull them through and are mounted and operated as follows: At opposite sides of the supporting frame and outside of the horizontal members 3 there is placed a pair of racks 16. Each rack is provided with a corresponding bearing member 17, as can be best seen in Fig. 4. The member 17 is secured to the rack 16 by means of suitable bolts 18 but is spaced apart therefrom by collars 19 surrounding the bolts. The space thus left between the bearing member and the rack provides a channel which enables each rack to be moved up and down with the guide member 21 extending through this channel. The opposite ends of the guide member 21 are bent at right angles to the central portion thereof as is best shown in Fig. 1. thus affording further guiding surfaces for the rack 16, both at its back and at its two vertical sides. Each guide member 21 can then be secured in any suitable manner as by bolts, to the side frame members 3. The outer end of the guide member 21 serves to carry an angle iron 22 bolted thereto, one leg of which iron serves to cooperate with a corresponding angle iron 23 to form a vertical guide channel fora roller which is hereinafter described.

Extending transversely of the apparatus and beyond the side frame members 3 is a shaft 24 on which are mounted the several needles. While I may mount any number of needles on this shaft in one or more rows, I prefer to have two rows of needles mounted thereon, one row, as shown in Fig. 3, in the preferred embodiment of my apparatus. comprises four needles 25 all extend ing in the same plane and suitably secured in a rigid manner to the shaft 24. Arranged at to the first row of four needles I mount a row of three needles. 26, one of which is plainly shown 'At the end of each arm are rollers 29 and 31.

in Fig. 4. These two rows of needles make it possible to pierce a mattress alternatively in four positions and then in three positions, so that the tying cords may have a staggered relation to each other when all are drawn through the mattress. Of course, four or more needles could be used in one row and only that one set provided, eliminating the staggered relation of the tying cords, if one desired.

Each end of the shaft 24 has mounted fixedly thereon a bell crank having two arms 27 and 28. The arrangement of hell cranks and rollers is exactly the same. on oppositesid-es of the frame. Likewise the guide channels in which these rollers move, as provided between the angle irons 22 and 23, are exactly alike on opposite sides of the frame of this apparatus. When one desires to elevate the row of four needles the shaft 24 will be rotated into the position shown in the drawings with the rollers 29 ready to move upwardly into the respectively associated vertical channels. This rotation of the shaft can be accomplished by engaging the hand or foot with the lever 32 which is carried at one side of the frame and moving it either to the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 2 or to the dotted line position shown in the same figure. To limit this movement of the lever or crank 32 I provide a cradle 33 having appropriate surfaces against which the lever may rest in either of its two positions. It will be noted on reference to Fig. 2 that the lower end of the guide channel for this roller is suitably flared to facilitate the entry of the guide rollers into the channel.

For elevating the rack 16 to cause either set of needles to pierce the mattress a pinion gear 34 is provided rotatable on a suitable axis 35 and fixed to a hand lever 36. A pawl 3'7 pivoted on the axis 38 will be employed to engage the teeth of the pinion gear 34 at any desired time in order to hold the rack elevated at any desired position, for example, at the time when the nee dles have pierced the mattress and the operators are about to pull the tying cords through the eyes of the needles. The rack 16 shown in Fig. 4 is duplicated on opposite sides of the frame and is similarly secured on both sides to the shaft which carries the needles. As will now readily be understood, the operation of piercing the mattress with the needles is accomplished by the operator.

rotating the handle 36, and locking the rack in raised position until all the tying cords have been threaded through the needles, whereafter the rack will then be lowered and the cords pulled downwardly through the respective positions in the mattress.

Prior to piercing the mattress with either group of needles a suitable clamp is brought down on top of the mattress in the vicinity of the positions to be pierced. This clamp is generally indicated by the numeral 39 in Fig. 1 and consists of a heel 41 with a plurality of projecting toes 42 between which the needles are permitted to rise when piercing the mattress. This clamp is secured in any suitable manner to a non-rotatable shaft 43 which in turn is secured to a rack 44 which may be raised and lowered by means of a small pinion gear 45 which is rotated by the crank 46. The rack 44 is provided with a suitable back member 47 spaced apart therefrom as are the rack and back members 16 and 17. An appropriate guide 48 for the vertical movement of this rack is likewise provided.

As the mattress must be pierced in manydifferent positions it is necessary after it is pierced by each row of needles to move the mattress along the frame so that the next piercing of the needles will take place at appropriate positions. For this purpose the slightly raised track 7 on each side of the frame and the grooved rollers 6 are provided. In order that the carrier for the mattress may be temporarily locked in each proper tying position, a pawl 59 is pivoted on the side of the movable carrier. It is urged downwardly by a spring 51 sothat it will enter any of the notches 52 provided on the side of the main frame.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 3, it will be vobserved that the carrier for the mattress is rotatable about a horizontal axis 8, the reason for this being that after the'needles have been pushed upwardly through the mattress at all positions to be tied, and the tying cords pulled downwardly therethrough, the mattress cover then on the upper side of the mattress is fully positioned and ready to be tied to the cover on the opposite surface. In order to accomplish this the mattress is then turned over in its carrier about the horizontal longitudinal axis. The other half of the mattress cover can then be placed upon what is then the upper side of the mattress and the tying cords which extend up through the mattress can be secured to it. For locking the mattress carrier in horizontal position I have provided lugs 53 which may be temporarily lockingly engaged by bolts 54, the latter being carried by the nonrotatable parts of the carrier. These bolts may be disengaged from the lugs by pulling them outwardly whereupon the carrier may be rotated 180 and then looked again.

Assuming that all of the tying cords have been pulled down from the cover on the top of the mattress and it is desired then to rotate the mattress to permit the positioning of the opposite cover, it is first necessary to insert a plurality i of longitudinally extending bars similar to the bars 13 in the sockets 14 and thereafter to place above these bars a pair of transversely extending bars similar to the bars 12, these being engaged underneath the flanges of the side channel members 11. Thus when the carrier is rotated the mattress will then rest on the newly installed bars and the bars 12 and 13 which formerly supported the mattress may be removed, permitting the other half of the cover to be laid on the mattress.

Referring now to Fig. 5, it will be observed that as the needles rise up through the mattress they do not pierce the cover which is on top. This piercing is avoided 'so that the mattress cover will have no holes whatever therein which would permit the entry of dust or vermin. At suitable intervals where tying cords are to be secured the mattress cover 55 is provided with small loops 56 which are suitably secured to the inner surface of the cover, as by sewing. These loops are preferably made of fabric of substantial strength. Through each of these loops a tying cord 57 will be passed. The manner of applying the covers and pulling the tying cords through the mattress is accomplished in a progressive manner, moving from one end of the mattress to the other end. With the mattress carrier in the position shown in Fig. 2, the upper half of cover 55 will be placed entirely to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, of the first row of holes to be pierced, with the transversely extending row of tying cords which are to be pulled through that row of holes lying near at hand ready for insertion through the needles. After the racks 16 have been raised and the needles have pierced the employ mattress at the first row, the cords are passed through the needle eyes and pulled downwardly. The mattress cover will then be further unfolded until the next row of tying cords are lying closely adjacent the position where the next row of holes are to be pierced. The carrier is then moved another notch to the left, the alternate row of needles is rotated into the vertical position and the racks 16 again raised to cause the needles to pierce the mattress. In this way the successive rows of tying cords can be pulled downwardly through the mattress. The clamp 39, of course, must be raisedeach time to per mit of the longitudinal movement of the mattress and then brought down again before the needles pierce the mattress. When all the cords have been pulled through, the cross-section of the mattress will be that which is shown in Fig. 6. The clamp can then be raised to its maximum height, the needles lowered, the mattress rotated 180 along with its carrier, and the other half of the mattress cover, not shown, can then be applied, first with all of it folded backwardly at one end of the mattress and successive rows of tying cords can then be secured to loops provided on the inner surface of the second haf of the cover, similar to the loops 56. During this tying operation the clamp 39 will again be used, bringing it down exactly the same distance when tying each row of cords. The operators will then not be obliged to provide the force for compress.- ing the mattress at the time it is positioned. After all the, tying cords are secured, the mattress will, by reason of this operation, be tied in a most uniform manner, assuring a more equal distribution of strains thereon during its service, and, of course, greatly enhancing its appearance. The sides and ends of the mattress covers which are not secured by the tying operation can be and preferably are united by sewing them to each other so that the completed mattress cover may be entirely free of apertures.

The Figures 5 and 6 indicate the manner of operating on a spring filled mattress, but, of

1 course, this device and this method of tying mat-' tress covers is suitable for the tying of hair or felted mattresses. Due to the danger of shearing the layers of felt or hair by the use, of fiat square cornered clamps, I deem it advisable to in connection with such mattresses clamps of the nature shown in Figs. '7 and 8. A plurality of these clamps spaced apart so that the needles may rise through them can be secured in any suitable manner to the racks 44 in place of the clamp 39. Clamps of this nature are shown and generally indicated at 58, and in Fig. 8 one of them is shown attached to a holder 59 which is adapted for being secured to the transverse shaft 43. The clamp is secured to the holder by means of a suitable bolt 61. It will be noted that the under surface of the clamp has somewhat the contour of a longitudinal half of an egg shell, so that it may efiiciently compress a hair or felted mattress without tending to shear or tear apart the fibers in the layers. An aperture 62 is provided in each clamp to permit the passage therethrough of a tying needle.

It should be understood that the scope of this invention may include embodiments other than that herein shown, and that the present structure is selected as being preferred and well suited for disclosing the nature of this invention and the manner of using it.

Having shown and described the invention, I claim:

1. A mattress covering apparatus comprising a frame, a carrier for retaining a mattress and being movable along said frame, a shaft having fixed thereon two rows of spaced apart needles for piercing said mattress, said rows lying in planes at least 90 apart, and means for rotating said shaft for selectively aligning either row in position for piercing of the mattress.

2. A mattress covering apparatus comprising a frame, a mattress carrier and means for moving the same into a plurality of positions along the frame, means forcausing a plurality of needles to simultaneously pierce the mattress, means arranged for compressing the surface of the mattress equally at all by said needles, and means for rotating said mattress carrier at least 180 relatively to said frame.

3. A mattress covering apparatus comprising a frame, a mattress carrier horizontally movable thereon, means for rotating said carrier at least 180 about a horizontal axis, and means for causing a plurality of spaced apart needles to rise beneath the mattress and pierce it.

4. A mattress covering apparatus comprising a frame, a mattress carrier thereon, means for rotating said carrier at least 180 about a horizontal axis, means for causing a plurality of spaced apart needles to rise beneath the mattress and pierce it,. and means for compressing the mattress equally in the vicinity of tying positions including a mattress contacting member having a contacting surface convexed relatively to the mattress and provided with an aperture through said convex surface.

- DAVID MICON.

positions where it is pierced horizontally movable 1 

